Happy Hour 02/13: Fired Faster than Greased Lightning!

So if you're San Diego Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, do you wish you'd have just promoted Cam Cameron or Wade Phillips now?

I realize it probably wasn't looking very good with a big chunk of Marty Schottenheimer's staff running off to other gigs. But given how much chatter there was about Marty getting fired after San Diego was knocked out of the playoffs, isn't it now pretty clear that the Chargers really wanted to make a coaching change, but couldn't justify it after a 14-2 regular season, and the presumption that most of the band would get back together again?

But it's not like the Chargers won't have a stack of resumes to choose from. You could argue that the talent pool is even deeper now that the Super Bowl has passed. None of this "we'll have to talk after the playoffs" junk now. Or they could just talk to the other nine candidates Jerry Jones didn't hire in Dallas.

(By the way, do you think any of the guys who pounced on the six previous openings in the NFL are kicking themselves today? What's a better gig than taking over a 14-2 team?)

Reportedly, Schottenheimer clashed with Smith and team president Alex Spanos over trying to hire his brother Kurt as defensive coordinator. I'm guessing that upon receiving Marty's request, the following sentence might have been uttered by either Smith or Spanos: "Kurt Schottenheimer? Didn't Matt Millen fire that guy?" In the two years that Marty's younger brother oversaw the Detroit Lions' defense, they finished 30th and 28th in the NFL. Of course, he would've had far better players to work with in San Diego. But nepotism should only take a guy so far, don't you think?

▪▪ As you might imagine, Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz has already been mentioned as a potential replacement for Schottenheimer. (Jay Crawford pitched his name on ESPN's "1st and 10.") But is it saying something that John Clayton has him listed last, behind four no-chance candidates, among his 12 possibilities for the job?